


Hearth

by VisionaryGalaxy



Series: A Thousand Futures of Me and You [106]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Boys In Love, Don't copy to another site, Fluff, Hypothermia, Light Angst, M/M, Medical Inaccuracies, Naked Cuddling, OT3, Science Bros, Sharing Body Heat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-24
Updated: 2019-04-24
Packaged: 2020-01-31 06:07:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18585349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VisionaryGalaxy/pseuds/VisionaryGalaxy
Summary: The last thing Bruce and Tony expected while waiting for Stephen to return home, was for him to drop through his portal wet and covered in ice.





	Hearth

**Author's Note:**

> Mark Ruffalo deserves the world.

   Tony frowned down at the difficult piece of wiring currently giving him a headache. He’d been at it for nearly two hours and Bruce’s eyes on him, both curious and exasperated were not helping. He knew his lover didn’t quite understand why he spent so much time on something that was arguably old fashioned compared to the improvements he had made with nanites, but the truth was he liked the distraction.

   They were both uncomfortably aware of the clock hanging on the wall, counting down closer and closer to midnight, putting them both on edge. The waiting sucked, but at least he could count on Bruce to let him indulge in long work hours while they did so.

   Tony glanced up at where Bruce sat peering through his glasses at the stack of papers in front him, hands shifting them with the speed of long familiarity, and he had no doubt he was back to his own notes sent over from Shuri’s lab.

   It was always relaxing, being in the lab with Bruce, bouncing ideas off of one another, the gentle music and flipping of papers. The soundtrack of their work was soothing beyond belief and he knew it was the same for Bruce, except tonight, one crucial element was missing.

   Stephen.

   Usually he would be here, curled up on one of the armchairs in the more casual section of the lab, book in his lap or body hovering serenely above the tiled floors, lost to whatever meditation technique he had adopted that day.

   He spotted Bruce glancing toward that very spot, frowning slightly.

   “He’ll be here,” Tony commented, voice far more confident then he actually felt.

   Bruce’s nearly black eyes landed on him, weary as though to be so hopeful would be ruinous. Tony let out a sigh, abandoning his project to walk over to his table, “how are we feeling?”

   Bruce shook his head a little, “I’m fine,” he murmured.

   “I’m not.”

   Bruce rightfully narrowed his eyes because Tony was the last person to be overly emotional about things, but he’d been trying, both him and Stephen had, in order to get Bruce to be open with them. Now seemed like a descent time and place to work on it, since he knew they were both in the same boat.

   Bruce slipped his glasses off his face, rubbing at his eyes, “yeah, feels like he’d been gone for longer then usual.”

   “It does,” Tony agreed. “But he should be back tomorrow at the latest. How about we head to bed and kill some of that time?”

   Bruce blinked at him incredulously, “you are saying we should go to bed? You?”

   “Honestly I just think Stephen will kill me if he thinks I’ve been staying up too much again.”

   The man snagged one his hands, that damn smile that never failed to make Tony want to pull him into his arms, lighting up his face, “seems like a smart move.”

   He knew Bruce had caught on to why Tony had really said it, that it was for his sake and not Tony’s, because the more tired the scientist was, the harder it would be to control his green side. He like to think he had gotten better at the whole ‘considerate’ thing Stephen always went on about. Plus, since the sorcerer wasn’t there, it was his responsibility to make sure he took care of Bruce, not that he minded in the least, mind already conjuring images of bathtubs and whiskey.

  Just as Bruce went to stand both their heads snapped toward the doorway where an array of spinning sparks had just popped into existence. They stared, wide-eyed as Stephen’s lean figure stumbled through.

   Tony’s mouth opened to greet him only to freeze when Stephen’s looked at him with half-closed eyes, pale skin almost appearing white, his clothes dusted in snow, as he unceremoniously sunk to the floor, guided by the Cloak.

   For two long seconds they didn’t move as the portal closed, too in shock, then Bruce was sprinting forward and falling to his knees next to Stephen’s unconscious form. Tony felt like he couldn’t move, the entire scene just a little too close to so many nightmares he had endured.

   “ _Tony_ ,” Bruce’s voice was the one to snap him out if it.

   He had Stephen on his back, the Cloak hovering anxiously next to him, “I need your help, _now_.”

    He was by their side in a heartbeat, taking in the bluish tint on Stephen’s lips, the hard shivers moving through his body even as he lay there, “what the hell?” he muttered, gut twisting.

   “Hypothermia,” Bruce said briskly, already tugging and pulling at Stephen’s clothes.

   Tony reached forward to help, realizing his clothes were soaked and crusted with ice. He lifted Stephen bodily, as Bruce quickly began undoing the belt and pulling the robes off his shoulders. They were trying to be gentle but there was no hope for it, as they finally got it down to around his waist.

   Tony’s hands pressed against freezing skin and part of him had the image of this being his cold, dead body and he had to suck in a heavy breath, driving it from his mind and focusing on the slow rise and fall of his chest.

   Soon Stephen was completely naked, clothes discarded in a heap on the floor and Tony was looking up at the Cloak, “we need your help to get him upstairs and into bed alright?”

   It gave a brief nod before scooping him up and racing him upstairs, leaving the two men to chase after them, “what are you thinking? Hospital or home?” he asked Bruce.

   The man shook his head a little, “we need to warm him up first, monitor his breathing then decide.”

   None of them were fond of hospitals and Tony trusted Bruce’s judgement as they entered the room and immediately began covering Stephen’s form with the comforter and blankets pulled from the closets.

   “Friday need you to monitor his breathing and heartrate. Let us know if it gets bad alright?”

   “Of course, boss.”

   Bruce let out a frustrated groan as he pressed his hand to Stephen’s cheek. Shaking his head, he began to strip, nimble fingers making quick work of his button down, “strip, he needs body heat.”

   “Way ahead of you,” he slipped his shirt over his head and kicked off his jeans before sliding beneath the covers while Bruce did the same on the other side.

   Tony couldn’t help but hiss as he made contact with Stephen’s frigid skin, only serving to make his stomach twist with fear as they both enveloped him in their arms.

   “Tuck his hand gently between your thighs, its hard enough for him to get any heat in them,” Bruce instructed.

   He did so, careful not to apply to much pressure as he then began rubbing his hands over Stephen’s chest and arms in an attempt to help the circulation. Several minutes later Tony swore he could see colour beginning to seep back into his pale skin and he blew a sigh of relief, looking over at Bruce who was watching Stephen’s closely, brows furrowed.

   “What are you thinking?”

   He glanced at him, “it wasn’t too bad, he should be fine so long we keep an eye on him, He probably wasn’t wet for very long.”

   Tony pressed a hard kiss to Stephen’s shoulder, “you idiot,” he murmured. “One day you’ll have to stop giving us heart attacks.”

   “Does that go for you too?” Bruce inquired quietly; voice tinged with amusement. “Cause if we’re honest, you’re just as bad as him.”

   Tony paused, looking over Bruce’s haggard face and feeling a pang of guilt, “I’m sorry.”

   The other man sighed, letting his head rest against Stephen’s chest, “I know, its not like you guys do it on purpose.”

   Tony reached over until he could grip Bruce’s hands, squeezing it gently, as they began their vigil over Stephen’s rapidly warming body.

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, so I'm going to be playing around with a few OT3s involving the boys, but I promise normal Ironstrange will outnumber them by far.


End file.
